What does Jesus teach about giving?
One of my favourite parts about the Christmas season is that people adopt a spirit of giving. Most recently I was overjoyed to see the trending of #GivingTuesday on social media.
But how should we give? What is the standard by which we measure our giving?
Photo courtesy of Marian Chinciusan from Unsplash.com
Pushing Beyond Your Comfort Zone
A year following my conversion I was on the phone with someone who was asking about my conversion story. Let’s call him Dave (his real name isn’t Dave). Dave told me that every year at Christmas he gives to a charity that supports low income families. I complimented Dave on his charity.
Next, Dave wanted to know how much my wife and I give annually. Hesitantly, I shared the figure with him. He seemed offended accusing me of thinking I’m better than him because I gave more than he did. I was shocked, considering the fact that he insisted I tell him. I proceeded to explain to him that my wife and I don’t give to feed our egos. It is our relationship with Jesus that challenges us to push the boundaries of our comfort zones in all aspects of life, including giving.
The Widow’s Offering
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus witnesses people of great wealth offering large financial donations at the temple’s treasury. Then he notices a woman in dirty clothes, all alone, inching her way towards the treasury’s donation box. Into the box she drops two copper coins (worth nearly nothing). Jesus then turns to his disciples and says,
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them [the wealthy] have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on [emphasis mine]” (Mark 12:43-44).
In the ancient Middle East if a widow didn’t have a male family member looking after her then she had to resort to begging on the streets. Widows had no status in society. For this woman to give to the point where she puts herself in an uncomfortable situation she had to have something that the wealthy men didn’t have. She had to have relentless faith in God. She had to believe that God will provide for her.
The Faith of a Child
Last week I was visiting a classroom at one of the Catholic schools close to my church. I did a presentation on justice. I asked the class to share with me the kindest thing that they have ever done for anyone. One of the quieter students in the class raised her hand. She shared with me and the class that the other day she was at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto. She received $100 as a gift that she was determined to spend. However, instead of spending the money on herself she gave the money to a homeless man.
This young lady wasn’t a poor widow, but she gave all the money she had. She gave at the expense of her not getting what she wanted.
God’s Got Your Back
As a person of faith who strives to have an intentional relationship with Jesus, I constantly ask God to push me out of my comfort zone, to become the person he created me to be.
If you want to be an All-Star athlete you’ve got to sacrifice comfort to a near breaking point. Similarly, if you want God to sculpt you into the great person he created you to be, you’ve got to push yourself. One of the ways to push your comfort zone is to give like the widow; give not from your abundance, but from your poverty.
Question: 1) What is the kindest thing you have ever done for anyone? 2) How can you give out of your poverty?
Edited by Robert Bandura
